Manhattan Mafia Guide Read Online Free PDF

of the family. Under his direction, the organization acquired a near monopoly on various gambling enterprises across the United States. He had become so wealthy and powerful that virtually every crooked politician and city administrator of the era was either installed by Costello or in his pocket.
    Costello was said to be one of the last of the old-timers who did not promote the sale of narcotics; he felt it was not worth the risk. Too many low-level criminals and associates outside the family had to be involved, and potentially long prison sentences made people talk. In what would be proven by the 1950s, a single street pusher turned informant had the potential to put an entire crew behind bars.
    If it weren’t for murder, graft, extortion and otherwise illegal practices, Costello would have been remembered as one of the most prominent and ingenious businessmen of the era, and he wanted to be respected as such. Costello worked hard to maintain a clean image; his social circle included the highest-level politicos, entertainers, industrialists and socialites of the generation.
    Well liked and highly respected, the crime lord’s only real threat came from inside his own family. When Vito Genovese returned to America, he believed the boss position was his, only found that it was extremely difficult to gather any support for an overthrow. Costello simply made everyone too much money and had too many powerful allies.
    Genovese was the opposite of Costello. He was said to be brutish and violent and had made many enemies in his career. He did allegedly promote narcotics trafficking and had none of the business or social savvy that made Frank Costello so successful. It didn’t appear that Costello had anything to worry about; however, things started to unravel for him in the early 1950s.
    Luciano family underboss Guarino “Willie” Moretti—Costello’s blood cousin and most trusted associate—was murdered in a Clifton Park, New Jersey diner on October 4, 1951. It was a major personal and professional setback for Costello.
    Then, in 1952, he served his first prison term in over thirty years: eighteen months for refusing to answer questions during the infamous Kefauver hearings on organized crime. There was little his high-powered friends could do—the entire proceedings were televised to the world.
    In 1954, he spent another eleven months behind bars before a five-year tax evasion sentence was overturned. While in prison for a third time in 1956, another important ally, Joe Adonis, was deported to Italy. Genovese realized he had an opportunity to stage a coup and began to garner support from his young stable of street soldiers, including Vincent “Chin” Gigante.
    One last major obstacle stood in the way: Mangano family boss Albert Anastasia. The former Murder, Inc. hit man was now leading one of the most powerful crime families in the country and was a staunch ally of Costello’s. Unfortunately for Costello, Anastasia fell into bad terms with many top mobsters, including Meyer Lansky, when he began establishing competing gambling rackets.
    With the go ahead from the top bosses, Anastasia was involuntarily retired in October 1957. Now, Genovese, after a decade of plotting patiently, was clear to make a move against Costello.
    On May 2, 1957, seven months after the murder of Anastasia, Vincent Gigante followed Frank Costello into the lobby of his apartment building. As Costello approached the elevator, Gigante yelled out, “This is for you, Frank!” and fired a shot at the boss’s head from just a few feet away.
    The warning was a blessing for Costello, who reacted just in time, and the bullet only grazed his skull. Gigante fled the scene, convinced that he had just killed the most powerful criminal in America; however, Costello recovered. But the incident was enough to force Costello into relinquishing his position as boss. Genovese had killed and manipulated his way to the top of the family that would come to bear his